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To be or not to be? PowerPoint PPT Presentation

To be or not to be?. So far we have learned two ways to express the concept of “to be”: ser estar In this slide show, we’ll look more closely at the differences between these two verbs. Ser.

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To be or not to be?

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To be or not to be?

In this slide show, we’ll look more closely at the differences between these two verbs.

Ser

Let’s start with ser, the first verb we learned. This verb is used to talk about essential things (essential ≈ es).

Think of the acronymT.O.P.I.C.

Time

The first letter of T.O.P.I.C. stands for “time.” When we talk about time in Spanish, we always use ser:

¿Qué hora es?

Son las 3:30.

Hoy es lunes.

Origin

The second letter of T.O.P.I.C. stands for “origin.” We use ser to talk about where people are from:

Soy de Chicago.

Marta es venezolana.

Professions

We can also use ser to talk about people’s jobs:

Mi hermano es ingeniero.

Ellas son profesoras.

Identification

The fourth letter of T.O.P.I.C. refers to “identification.” This can be used to name people:

Ella es mi prima.

places:

Springfield es la capital de Illinois.

things:

¿Qué tipo de animal es?

Es un león.

and events (“takes place”)

La fiesta es en la casa de Alicia.

Identification

You also use ser to identify possession (i.e., who owns what):

Es mi diccionario.

Esta no es mi calculadora.

Characteristics

The fifth and final letter of T.O.P.I.C. stands for permanent “characteristics”:

El perro es inteligente.

El perro es blanco y marrón.

El perro es simpático.

Characteristics

This use also includes descriptions of people, places, and things:

Marcos y Flora son fuertes.

Chicago es una ciudad grande.

La clase de español es divertida.

T.O.P.I.C.

To review, the main uses of ser include:

Time

Origin

Professions

Identification

Characteristics

There are other uses, too, but this acronym covers the most important cases!

Estar

Now we can look at estar. This verb is used to talk about states (estar≈ state).

Think of the acronymP.L.A.C.E.

Position

The first letter of the acronym P.L.A.C.E. stands for “position.” We use estar when we talk about where something is located, whether it is there temporarily…

David está en el desierto.

Juana no está en clase hoy.

Mi abuelo está en casa.

Location

… or permanently located there (the second letter of P.L.A.C.E.):

Chicago está en Illinois.

La iglesia está en la Avenida Foster.

Madrid está en España.

Action

The third letter of P.L.A.C.E. stands for “action.” We use estar when we are talking about actions that are occurring at the moment of speaking (sometimes referred to as the “present continuous” or “present progressive”):

Laura está esquiando.

Humbero está leyendo la Biblia.

Estamos mirando una película.

Condition

The fourth letter of P.L.A.C.E. stands for “condition.” We use estar to talk about temporary states (for example, health):

Enrique está enfermo.

Mis padres están cansados.

¿Cómo estás?

Emotion

The last letter of P.L.A.C.E. stands for “emotion.” We use estar to talk about feelings and emotions.

Alicia está enfadada.

Lorenzo y María están contentos.

Estoy nervioso porque tengo un examen de literatura.

P.L.A.C.E.

To review, the main uses of estar include:

Position

Location

Action

Condition

Emotion

There are other uses, too, but this acronym covers the most important cases!